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One-Punch Man’s Saitama has power far beyond that of a human, but his antics in chapter 155 may have literally placed him on the level of a God.
Warning: contains spoilers for One-Punch Man chapter 155!
As unquestionably his world’s strongest man, One-Punch Man‘s Saitama has pulled off some incredible achievements over the years, but his latest feat of strength goes beyond mere strength and into the realm of the divine.
Saitama has carved valleys and destroyed meteors with the power of his fists alone, and those were among his earliest accomplishments. Without even meaning to, Saitama often destroys the asphalt under his feet, or blows the clouds back with the shockwave of his punches such that the weather changes for miles around. The absolute absurdity of his seemingly limitless power is, of course, one of the series’ favorite running jokes, and these glimpses at his true power serve to make his daily restraint come across as an act of unstoppable willpower.
In chapter 155, Saitama finds himself facing off with the Monster Association executive Evil Natural Water, who has managed to reach the coast and bring the entire Pacific Ocean into itself, becoming Evil Ocean Water, whose eyes are so large they dwarf aircraft carriers. At first, its liquid body and sheer size seem like it might pose a problem for Saitama. Instead, over the course of just a few minutes, Saitama runs fast enough to walk on water, then delivers the most powerful punch he’s used in the series to date, causing the sea to part and revealing the seafloor underneath, creating a path leading off to the horizon. He then reaches one of the aforementioned aircraft carriers and discovers while standing on its deck that he can apply enough force to manipulate it like a surfboard, leading to a segment where Saitama surfs the aircraft carrier across the enormous tsunami that resulted from the water returning to normal, successfully getting the ship and its crew to safety.
While the god-like nature of Saitama’s power has been joked about before, parting the sea like Moses seems to be the most literal representation yet, while walking on water is so intimately tied to Jesus that even the phrase alone is used to imply divinity. As some of the best known acts of the divine in popular culture, using both back to back like this is definitely intended to give the impression that Saitama’s power is on the level of divine intervention. Of course, that may be the bare minimum that he needs, given that the evil « God » has been quite active in this latest attempt to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth, powering up Homeless Emperor and attempting to trick Tatsumaki into accepting his aid.
Although the Sage Centipede, Centisennin, seemed to believe that Evil Ocean Water was killed instantly by this attack, it may be wise not to count out such a massive monster so quickly. The exact mechanisms of how it spreads aren’t clear, but if any monster in One-Punch Man can pull off a Dragon Ball Z–style « regenerate from a single cell, » it’d probably be Evil Ocean Water. Regardless of whether the blow was lethal, parting the sea and walking on water are the most undeniable signs yet that Saitama‘s skills in One-Punch Man may genuinely be without limit.
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